


Just Gravy

by astradanvers



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AU Fic, F/F, F/M, Hank/Eliza, Olympics AU, but it happened, diver!Kara, fencer!Alex, general danvers, gymnast!Cat, majorly judging you, no one asked for this, supercat, volleyball!Astra & Lucy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-21
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-10 04:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7829749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astradanvers/pseuds/astradanvers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The 2016 Rio Olympics are in for an upheaval when the Danvers, Grant, Lane and In-Ze family show up to compete. But is winning the important part?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Olympic Family

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chimera428](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chimera428/gifts).



> Okay, so this came out of nowhere and quickly spiralled into a three day long writing binge that culminated in this. I blame shadhavar1126(Chimera428 here) over on tumblr for this honestly because she fed one little idea and it exploded into this. So yeah, enjoy guys and let me know what you think.

The man dressed in board shorts and a white t-shirt claps his hands together, “Alright, ladies,” he nods to the only man seated in the chairs before him, “and gentleman, we’re about to get started.”

The man and the seven women seated with him, one to his immediate right, two on his left and four behind him smile, “We’re ready, Dave,” Cat says from the back row, one leg crossed over the other, appearing utterly relaxed.

He smiles, “I'm sure you are, Cat, you never have been afraid of a camera.”

She smiles at him, “Never will either.”

“Dave,” a man calls from behind one of the cameras, “you're up in three,” he holds up three fingers, “two,” his voice lowers along with a single finger, “and one,” he all but whispers before pointing to Dave.

“Alright, guys, I promised you something extra special tonight,” Dave says over enthusiastically, “and man do I have a treat for you tonight. Sitting behind me is the Olympic Family, at least that's what Twitter and all of you have christened them.” He turns to face the group behind him, “So let me see if I've got this straight,” he says carefully, “all of you are related?”

They all nod, “Yes.”

He chuckles, “So tell me all about this and how you all came to be here. What are you all here in Rio for?”

“To win,” Cat says causing everyone to chuckle lightly. She shakes her head, “Honestly most of us met by chance and happenstance.”

“She's right,” the only man of the group says. “I coached Jeremiah as a snowboarder,” he says, “he was Alex’s father and Eliza’s husband.”

Eliza reaches out to him from his right, her hand sliding down to lace their fingers together, “Hank was with Jeremiah when he had his accident and he was there for Alex and I after Jeremiah died.”

“And by Jeremiah,” Dave says, “you mean Jeremiah Danvers, three time Olympic gold medalist.”

“By Jeremiah,” the dark haired woman on Hank’s left says, “we mean my dad, all the titles and the medals were,” she smirks.

“Just gravy,” Alex, Eliza and the young blonde next to Cat says.

“That always was his favorite saying,” the blonde says. Dave’s gaze moves to her, “Eliza and Jeremiah adopted me when I was thirteen, it was believed at the time,” she says, “that my entire family perished in a plane crash, except for my cousin. The two of us were separated until we met when I was older, he brought Lucy into our lives,” she says, smiling across Cat at the woman on the end. “Lucy is his sister-in-law.”

Lucy snorts, “This bunch adopted me much quicker than my brother-in-law though,” she says on a laugh.

Cat laughs, “We do tend to take in more people than not,” she says, “I met Kara at the pool where I was doing some aquatic training to help with my routine and the two of us clicked,” she reaches out for Kara’s hand, “the rest as they say is history.”

Chuckling Kara nods, “As correct as my sappy partner is, she's forgetting the part where she offered to introduce me to this amazing dive coach she knew.” She glances to her right, “She just so happened to introduce me to my mother, who had been trying to find me since the plane crash but after so many dead ends believed I died in the accident.”

“Alura was the best coach we could have hoped for to help Kara,” Eliza says, tilting her head back to look at the woman behind her, “not only because she gave Kara a piece of her family back but because she's amazing at what she does.”

Alura nudges Eliza lightly with her foot, “Like you aren't just as amazing with your student,” she says with a laugh. She snorts, “Hank’s the one who got the short end of the stick having to put up with my sister.”

“Hey!”

“Hi, Astra,” Alura says, wiggling her fingers, “nice nap down there in lala land?”

Dave laughs, “So you two are sisters?”

Astra nods, “Yes,” she says, “identical,” she deadpans with a raised eyebrow.

“Right,” he says, “I knew that.”

“We know, Dave,” Cat says in a placating tone.

He shakes his head at her, “So how many coaches do we have here?” Eliza, Hank and Alura all raise their hands, “We know Alura is coaching Kara in diving but, Hank, Eliza, who are you coaching and in what competitions?”

Eliza smiles, “I'm Alex’s coach in fencing,” she says with a smile at her daughter, who grins widely.

“Following in her footsteps,” Alex says simply with a slight shrug.

Dave nods, “And you, Hank?”

Hank smiles, “I'm Astra and Lucy’s volleyball coach now. My two daughters played volleyball before they passed and I coached them.”

“Were they Olympians?” Dave asks.

Hank shakes his head, “No but they loved the sport.”

“We’re going for the gold in their memory,” Astra says, her eyes locked on Hank, knowing how the sting of loss never truly fades, even if you regain what was lost.

Dave nods, looks to Cat, “And, Cat, what are you competing in this year?”

“Artistic gymnastics, Dave,” Cat tells him simply with a smile, “aren't I always?”

He nods, “That you are.” He smiles, “I wish you all good luck,” he tells them, “all of us are excited to see how well your family does.”


	2. Diving For Gold

Kara remembers the first time she ever completed a dive, it hadn't been for competition, she hadn't even known what competitive diving was then. She remembers the feeling she’d gotten as she shut down every power she had. As she shut her hearing down, drowning out her surroundings, which that day had been a bunch of teenagers, she felt herself overtaken by a sense of calm. She’d allowed herself to fall instead of flying, twisting in the air before her body hit the water, the force of her entry muted by the shutdown of her powers. She remembers applause from a few of the people that had been surrounding the pool but most of all she remembers the swimming coach approaching her, telling her she should think about competitive diving because with a form like that, she'd be perfect.

She stares up at the high dive before her, “Remind me to send Coach James a thank you note and a gift when we get back to the US, Mom.”

Alura smiles at her daughter, “Of course, sweetheart.”

Nodding she turns to look at the stands, scanning them carefully. Cat is training until just before her last dive and Alex has her first match some time in the next few minutes while Astra and Lucy should be getting in last minute warm ups before they head over for her final two dives. Scanning the stands she smiles when she spots who she's searching for, “Mama!” her super charged hearing picks up his tiny voice. She smiles at him, waving. He glances to the woman holding him “Susie, look it's Mama,” she hears him say.

She shakes her head, waves to him and her friend Vasquez once more then turns back to her mother, “Time to make my boy proud,” she says with a smile.

Alura laughs, “You always make him proud.”

* * *

Kara swims to the side of the pool, foregoing the ladder and pushing herself out of the water on the side of the pool. She takes her towel from Alura’s hands, “That was good,” Alura says.

“Good but not great,” Kara says, remaining steadfast and constant in being her own worst critic.

Alura stops at the side of the jacuzzi, watching Kara dunk her head below the water, “Kara, you did well. You can’t always be so hard on yourself.”

“What are the scores?” the younger woman asks, draping her towel around her neck as she steps out of the jacuzzi.

“They’re just showing them now,” Alura says, glancing over to the judges table. “Seven and a half, Eight, Eight, Seven and a half, Seven, Eight and a half, and Eight.”

The young diver sighs, “Fifty one point seven,” she mutters, “I’ve gotta do better.”

She glances to the stands and smiles when she sees that Alex and Eliza have settled into the stands beside Vasquez, Carter having shifted into Eliza’s lap, leaning back against her chest. “Did Alex win her match?” Kara asks her mother quickly.

Alura nods, “She did. According to Eliza’s message she had fifteen hits in the first two rounds of the match.”

“Next match in an hour?”

“Next match in an hour,” Alura affirms. “She’ll get to see your next two dives.”

Kara nods, takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, “I want to do my twist next.”

“Okay,” Alura says, as the two of them head back towards their preparation area, “let’s decide which one you want to do then.”

* * *

“Kara, don-” but the water bottle in Kara’s hand has already flown across their prep area.

“All sevens, Mom,” Kara shakes her head, “it's not good enough.”

“Hey,” Alura says, grabbing her daughter's wrist and turning the younger woman to face her, “listen to me.” She tilts their foreheads together, a pose she's taken more times than she can count over the years to impart wisdom or encouragement on her daughter, “You made it, Kara,” she says quietly. “You made it to the Olympics, to the gold medal finals. No matter what happens you're a winner.”

Kara shakes her head, “I'm not good enough for this, Mom, I shouldn't even be here.”

“Hey,” Alura says, “you were always supposed to be here. Your family knows that, you know that and you're gonna show all those people out there that.” She turns Kara so the stands are visible, “What do you see?”

Staring out at the stands Kara smiles, her son is sitting on Hank’s shoulders, his tiny hands wrapped around the top of Hank’s head. Eliza and Alex have disappeared, Vasquez with them, presumably for Alex’s next match. Lucy is sitting beside Hank, her eyes watching her surroundings and Astra is standing at a side rail, Kara knows without asking what her plan is. “My family,” she says simply.

Alura nods, “That's right, your family. And all of them are so proud of you, Kara.”

Slowly Kara gives a single nod, claps her hands together, “Let's do this,” she says, “reverse is up next.”

* * *

Kara surfaces from the jacuzzi, “That was better than I expected,” she says.

“You did great,” a voice beside the jacuzzi says and instantly Kara knows it’s not her mother though the voice is extremely similar.

Her head snaps around, “You shouldn’t be back here,” she tells her Aunt Astra simply while stepping out of the jacuzzi.

“Your mom thought you’d like to see me.”

Slowly Kara nods and then curls into the arms Astra wraps around her, uncaring that her niece has just stepped out of the water. “I’m not doing so hot,” she murmurs against Astra’s neck.

“You’re doing wonderfully, Kara,” Astra tells her, chin resting on the top of Kara’s head. “You’re lowest score on that last one was a seven and a half and there was one of them. You’re in the lead, Kara.” She meets the young woman’s eyes, “You have to stop expecting perfection from yourself, Little One.”

“I don’t want perfection,” Kara mutters, “I just want to win.”

Astra shakes her head, “Winning at the end of the day, Kara, is just as Jeremiah used to describe it to you and Alexandra, it’s gravy. The best part of competing, Kara, is to enjoy the sport you love.” She tilts her head, “How many times have Lucy and I lost?”

“Many.”

“And how many times have we let that keep us from loving what we do? How many times have we given up?”

Kara shakes her head, “You and Lucy have never given up. I’ve never seen the two of you even give a second glance to a loss.”

“There are second glances,” Astra says, “but those glances are to see how we can do better.” She smiles at her niece, “So what’s next? How are you going to be even better with this next one?”

“Backward,” Kara says simply, heading for the prep area.

* * *

“Son of a bitch,” Kara nearly growled, her water bottle slamming into a wall with much more force than it had after her second dive.

“Kara,” Alura begins but Kara’s too busy pacing, muttering lowly to herself. “Kara,” her words are still ignored.

“Kara!” a new voice demands, sharp and crisp, causing Kara’s head to snap up and around. “Your mother is trying to talk to you.”

The young diver looks away, Alura rests a hand on Cat’s shoulder, “I’ll give you two a minute. She needs to decide what she wants to do next.”

Cat nods and watches Alura head over towards the stands, leaning over the edge to speak quietly with Lucy. “Hey,” she says quietly, when she reaches out for Kara’s hand.

“I failed.”

“You haven’t failed anything, Kara.” She glances to the leader board, “You fell back to second,” she shrugs, “so what. You still have a chance at gold and if you don’t get gold well we’ll have a silver medal to hang on our wall instead.”

“But you’re gonna get gold and I want our medals to match.” She looks away, “This is the only time we’ll have to compete in the same games and I want us to have matching medals.”

Cat smiles at her lovely, sentimental, adorable girlfriend, “So go out there and win it,” she says simply. “Everything you need to win that gold medal,” she tells Kara, “is right here,” she taps a finger over Kara’s heart, “so what are you gonna do to win it.”

Kara smiles at her girlfriend, “How is it you always know what I need to hear?”

“Because I love you.”

“I love you too,” Kara tells her, leaning down to kiss her tenderly. When she pulls away there’s a determined look in her eyes and a wild smile on her lips, “I’m gonna win this thing.”

“There’s my girl,” Cat says with a smile of her own.

* * *

She approaches the end of the platform, closes her eyes as she turns to face away from the pool. Bending she places her hands flat on the platform, her eyes opening even as she closes off her hearing and allows herself to be consumed with the feeling of calm. With a deep breath in she moves into an armstand and waits, one breath, two, before she allows herself to fall. She wraps her arms around her knees, tucks her head down and spins into her four and a half somersault tuck. When she breaks the water, arms extended, she knows she’s in perfect form.

As she swims to the side of the pool she hears the crowd’s cheer, “Supergirl! Supergirl!”

The smile stretched across her lips as she gives them a slight wave before lifting herself from the water is nothing new at the sound of the nickname she’s had since qualifying. “You did amazing, darling,” Cat says, extending a hand to help her into the jacuzzi.

Kara smiles at her, “I listened to you,” she says simply. She dunks her head under the water, “What are the scores?” she questions as she comes back up.

“Eight, Nine, Eight and a half, Nine, Eight and a half, Nine, Eight.”

“Ninety-eight point eight,” Kara mutters, falling back against the side of the jacuzzi once she’s stepped down onto the concrete beside Cat. “A ninety-eight point eight.” She shakes her head slightly, “Cat, I -”

Cat takes her face in both hands, “You just won an Olympic gold medal, Kara Zor-El Danvers, that’s what you did,” she says with a laugh before pulling the younger woman down into a kiss.

* * *

 

Kara steps up onto the platform, her windbreaker rustling slightly as she takes the center. She smiles at the press gathered round, all taking photo after photo. When the presenter approaches her she ducks her head slightly, allows them to place the medal around her neck. “How does it feel?” one of the reporters she recognizes asks.

She smiles at him, “Like gravy,” she says with a chuckle, glancing behind him to the small crowd gathered for her. “Amazing, but just like gravy.”

“Your father said the same thing when he won gold,” another reporter says.

The young woman nods, “He did and he taught my sister and I the same thing. The medals are nice, they’re awesome to win, it’s an awesome feeling but compared to family and what you can do, winning is gravy. You go out, you have fun and most of all you do the best you can,” she smiles, “sometimes you bring home a medal and sometimes you just go home.”

“Mama!” a voice shouts and everyone’s attention is diverted to the little dark haired boy who nearly trips over himself getting up the podium stairs.

Kara scoops him up into her arms, “This is what it’s about,” she says with a smile while placing a kiss on Carter’s cheek. “Let's go, Little Man,” she tells him, “we’ve got to go watch Mommy.”

The little boy nods, “Right, Mama.”

The picture on the front page of  _ The Tribune  _ and  _ The Daily Planet  _ the next day shows Kara Zor-El Danvers holding her son while standing on the podium with a gold medal around her neck but eyes solely for the boy in her arms.


	3. Fencing with Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so just a little something about this chapter. In the actual Olympics a participant is only allowed to score 5pts per set but for the purposes of this story that rule is null and void. In other words I wrote this before I knew that rule and refused to go back and change it.

Alex glances at Eliza, “How's it looking?”

“You’ve got a nine o’clock match against France.”

The younger woman groans, “I was hoping they'd hold off on pairing me against France until at least Table of 16.”

Eliza rubs her daughter's shoulders, “You'll do fine.” She smiles, “All goes well you may get to see at least Kara’s next dive and her last.”

Alex nods, “Alright, let's do this.”

* * *

“Seven points in that set, Alex,” Eliza says, holding a water bottle out to her daughter who’s pulled off one of her gloves.

Alex nods, “I can take her in this next set,” she says with a nod.

Eliza shakes her head, “Don't push yourself too hard, you've got two more sets to finish this.”

The younger woman passes her water bottle back, slips her glove back on, “I’ll just finish it in one,” she tells her mother with a grin. With those words she slips her mask back into place and lifts her epée.

Two minutes and thirty-five seconds is all it takes for Alex to get eight more hits to her opponent from France. When she steps up to the woman to shake her hand the woman nods, “You are very good,” the woman says her accent thick. “I wish you luck.”

Alex nods, “Thank you.”

She makes her way to the sidelines and high fives her mother, “Show off,” the older woman says with a chuckle.”

The younger shrugs, “I have a legacy to live up to, Ms. I-won-in-one-round.”

Eliza beams, “That was a glorious round.”

Shaking her head Alex starts stripping out of her armor, “We can see at least one dive if we hurry.”

Eliza nods, “Let's go.”

* * *

“Canada,” Alex mutters after the first set of her next match. She glances at the spectators, watching as Astra flits in and then back out, Carter on her back. “I can't believe I lost the first set.”

She takes a swallow of water, “Go out there and change it,” Eliza says simply. “You can beat her in two rounds,” she shrugs, “you proved it last match.”

Alex nods, smiles up at her mother, “You’re right, I can do this.”

After the next set Alex paces, “I need nine points,” she mutters, “if it was eight I’d be confident but I don't know if I can do nine.”

Pulling Alex to her Eliza meets her daughter’s eyes, “You can do this, Alexandra.”

The young woman nods, glances to her fiancé who holds up a thumbs up, “Kara did better on her third dive.”

Eliza shrugs, “I knew she would.” She nods, “Time for you to get back out there.”

Nodding Alex slips back into her mask, “Let's do this.”

After she's won the final set Alex throws herself into her mother’s arms, “That was awesome.”

Eliza grins at her daughter, “You did amazing, darling.”

* * *

Alex high fives her mother as she approaches the sidelines, “Good one, baby girl.”

The younger woman grins, most of her life she's thought herself a disappointment to her mother, if this trip has taught her anything it's taught her that the opposite is true. “I thought she had me,” she tells her mother honestly while taking a long drink from her water bottle.

“I know,” Eliza ensures Alex epée is balanced properly, “but then you came back.”

Alex shrugs, “Had to,” she wipes at her face and neck. She glances to the stands and waves to her sister and nephew, “I thought they'd be watching Cat.”

“Look again,” Eliza says simply.

Cat has appeared beside Kara, Carter have crawled over into his mother’s lap, “Did they make it?”

Eliza smirks, “I don't know,” she nods to the mat, “why don't you go finish this set so we can find out?”

Alex smirks at her mother’s tactics, “Why don't I?”

Three minutes later Alex sits down on the bench to remove her armor, “I didn't think you'd actually do it,” Eliza says with a chuckle.

Looking up at her mother Alex smiles, “I don't know why you'd think I wouldn't.”

Eliza shakes her head, “Come on then, let's go see how many gymnastics routines we have to sit through.”

* * *

Alex is pacing, “You'll do fine,” a voice says behind her and she whirls around.

“You aren't supposed to be in here.”

“You and Kara are far too much alike,” Astra says with a smirk as she steps up to her fiancé.

The younger woman sinks into Astra’s embrace, “I'm terrified,” she says quietly, Astra the only person she'd willing voice her fears to.

“You're doing amazingly well, love, and you'll keep doing well.”

“What if I fail?”

“How can you fail when you've made it this far, Alexandra?” She smiles, “You've told me a hundred times if you made it here at all doing what you loved that it's be enough.” She smirks, “You're about to go into the quarterfinals, that is far more than simply making it here.”

“And still it's just gravy,” Alex says, knowing exactly where Astra had been heading with her speech.

“There's my Brave One,” she presses a quick kiss to Alex’s lips, “go get’em, tiger.”

Alex laughs as she watches Astra leave, heart light with the knowledge she'll make it through this stronger.

When the match is over Astra slips back to Alex once more, drops a kiss to her lips and murmurs a quiet, “Told you so,” before slipping away again.

* * *

 

“Semifinals,” Alex glances up and smiles at her sister, lazing against the doorway.

“Must not seem so bad to you,” Alex says with a smirk, “Ms. Gold-medalist.”

Kara chuckles, “Oh but remember, until about half an hour ago, I was you.” She holds up a finger, “With one exception.”

“What's that?”

“I almost let mine slip through my fingers cause I almost walked away,” she shakes her head, “you aren't gonna do that.”

“I'm not?” Alex questions with a smirk.

Kara shakes her head, “You aren't,” she jabs a finger over her shoulder, “you aren't because you're your nephew’s hero and he's out there watching you.” Alex glares at her playfully, “You aren't, Lex,” Kara says after a moment, “because you've got this. This is what you love and you're good at it.”

Slowly Alex nods, “I can do this.”

When she loses the second set, matching her score to her opponent’s she fears they might be wrong but two minutes into the third set when she strikes a final blow to her opponent’s torso she knows they were right.

* * *

Hungary’s epée wielder stands across the mat, her mask already in place, “You can do this, Alex,” her mother says from behind her, “I know it.”

Alex smiles, nods her head and tilts her mask down, “I’m gonna do this.” She makes her way slowly forward, “I know you’re with me, Dad,” she says quietly before getting into position.

The moment the referee says, “En garde,” Alex begins to move. She loses count after the first two hits, simply allowing herself to get lost in the movements and feelings that surround her when she’s facing an opponent. When the whistle sounds at the end of three minutes Alex steps back, shocked to see that she’s scored ten points in the first set alone.

She moves over to where her mother is, taking a drink of her water but not allowing herself to speak, simply letting herself remain in the mindset she’s still in from the first match. When the next set is called she moves back into her position without hesitation. It takes a minute and a half before she’s hearing the sound of the buzzer.

“And the USA’s Alexandra Danvers has taken the gold, ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer shouts over the PA system.

Alex’s weapon falls to the floor as soon as she salutes her opponent and the referee and then she falls to her knees, “I did it,” she murmurs. Before she can process too much more than that she’s been lifted off the floor by Astra, “I did it, Astra,” she says, knowing that her fiance will hear her despite the noise and her mask.

“You did it, my love,” Astra says, spinning them around before standing her on her feet once more.

It takes nearly twenty minutes for them to get the podium set up and prepared for the medal presentation. Alex is standing in the wings, Astra by her side, “Smile,” Astra says quietly, hand trailing lightly over Alex’s arm.

Alex does smile then, “Show time,” she murmurs after a few more moments when the bronze and silver medals have been awarded. She makes her way out, stepping up onto the middle tier, hands behind her back. When the man with her medal approaches she ducks her head and lets the heavy medal fall around her neck. She lifts it up, taking in the details of it, “Just gravy,” she mutters to herself, wide smile spreading across her lips.


	4. Artistic Engagements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I intended to post one chapter a day until I'd posted all seven but work and life got in the way. Please forgive me. As a way to make up for it I'm just going to post the last three chapters tonight. I hope you guys will enjoy.

“We’re in the last of the women’s gymnastic competitions now, Dave,” one of the announcers says, her voice ringing in Cat’s ears even as she tries to tune her out.

“That's right, Sara,” the man who had interviewed her family the first day says, “and we’re about to see something phenomenal if previous experience is to be believed.”

Dave chuckles, “I believe in this case, Dave, seeing is believing.”

The PA system crackled overhead, “Our next gymnast is from team USA, she's the oldest gymnast on the team, she's an eight time Olympic gold medalist, three of which have come from Rio, and this is her last Olympic competition.”

“That's right, Dave,” Cat has moved towards her coach, speaking to them in hurried whispers. “Cat Grant first appeared on the scene in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She and her team took silver that year in overall and Cat took home gold in the uneven bars and individual overall and bronze for the balance beam. Then she returned in 2012 for the London Olympics and her team took gold overall, followed by her taking gold in the individual overall and on the uneven bars and silver on the balance beam.”

“And so far this year, Sara, she and her team have taken gold overall, she's taken gold in individual overall and in uneven bars. The balance beam seems to be where she always loses her ground. She's the best of her team at it, don't misunderstand that, but it always seems to give her a problem in her individual competition.”

“We’re gonna find out right now if that's changed,” the woman says. “She's taken bronze and silver in this event before, will this be the year that she takes the gold?”

“We've seen her do some amazing things so far, Sara, I doubt this event will be any different.”

Cat takes a slow, deep breath, “You've done amazing things, Catherine,” she murmurs, “time to do some more.”

She runs for the springboard,  _ tucked Arabian _ , she tells herself and goes easily into the mount, steadying herself on the bar before stretching to her full height. She bends at her waist, hands stretching down to grasp the bar, slowly bringing one foot up and away before the other and stretching into a handstand. When she rights herself she's halfway down the beam and turns into a front tuck with a half turn. Back to the end of the beam she turns to a back handspring followed by a second back handspring followed by a full twist and into a Korbut before popping back up onto her feet. She spins into a triple turn, then a half twist and finally a tucked triple turn. She rises,  _ double front tucked _ , she tells herself. Then moves down the beam, launching herself into the movement, her feet connecting with solid ground once more.

She hears the applause as she realizes she stuck the landing but it doesn't matter as she falls to the mat. “She's collapsed,” Dave’s voice says over the applause. Cat feels hands on her shoulders, “And that's her girlfriend, diver Kara Danvers, clearly worried about her partner.”

“Cat,” Kara’s quiet voice says, “are you okay?”

“I did it,” Cat says, looking up at Kara slightly. “I did it,” she smiles a little, “I’m exhausted though. How bad would it look if you carried me?”

“Do you care?”

Cat shakes her head, “Not really.”

As if that's all the information she needs, because honestly it is, Kara scoops Cat into her arms bridal style and makes her way towards the seating area for the US team. Cat waves idly to the crowd but keeps her head tucked into Kara’s neck.

“It seems she's fine, just tired,” Dave says, “and who can blame her, she's won two medals just today and if that performance was anything to go by she's just won a third.”

* * *

Cat stands on the podium, the weight of her newest medal heavy around her neck. She looks down at it, she has eight more of these either at home, proudly displayed in curios, or packed tightly away in a safe in her and Kara’s hotel room. Sliding a hand into her pocket as the last notes of the US National Anthem play she knows why she'd felt the need to bring the object there with her to this event.

“Mommy!” She looks up then, spots Carter scrambling through the gathered reporters until he reaches the podium and climbs his way up. Bending down she scoops him up, “Hi, Mommy.”

Smiling at her son, her beautiful boy she’s all the more sure of her next steps, “Hi, Carter.” She presses a kiss to his cheek, “Wanna help me with Kara’s big surprise?” He nods rapidly and she grins at him, “Come on then.”

When she reaches the edge of the podium she's unsurprised to find Kara there, hand held out, “May I?”

Cat shakes her head even while slipping her hand into Kara’s, “Always so chivalrous.”

Leaning down Kara presses a light kiss to Cat’s lips before the reporters have a chance to swarm them on the floor. Carter shifts his weight from Cat’s arms and into Kara’s, “Mama,” he says seriously, drawing Kara’s attention, “it's all just gravy.”

The young woman tilts her head, “What is, baby?”

“All of it,” Cat responds instead of Carter. “CatCo, the medals, the houses back home, all of it means nothing if I don't have someone to share it with.” She smiles at Kara, “You dove into my life, Kara, and you took Carter and I on a ride we never expected.” She runs her fingers over the box in her pocket, “You showed me, Kara, that all that stuff most people value, it's all just gravy.” She kneels down before the younger woman, “Kara Danvers, will you marry me?”

Kara feels tears well up in her eyes, feels herself overwhelmed by the emotions clawing at her throat. “You have to say yes, Mama,” Carter attempts to whisper to the younger woman.

Chuckling Kara shakes her head, “Yes, yes, of course I'll marry you,” she tells Cat, hand grasping the older woman’s as she pulls her up. Kara leans down to press her lips to Cat’s in a picture that the next morning appears on the front page of  _ The Tribune  _ and  _ The Daily Planet _ , Carter peeks over Cat’s shoulder with a wide smile on his lips as Kara cradles both Grants close to her. “I love you.”

Cat tucks herself against the side Carter isn't balanced on, “I love you too.”


	5. Rallying Together in the End

“Welcome to the 2016 Beach Volleyball Gold Medal Finals,” the announcer says amidst raucous cheers from the crowd. “Have we got a treat for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen.”

“That we do,” a woman’s voice chimes in, “we’ve got the near unbeatable Hungary team going up against the USA team that's come to be known as General Tols and Major Smols, Dave.”

“That's right, Sara, the nicknames of course refer to both the team’s military style training and practice regime as well as their height difference.” Lucy walks toward Astra, offering the taller woman a high five, “These two are not your normal partnership by any means, Sara.”

The woman laughs, “That's the truth, Dave, Astra Inze stands just under six foot with her five eight stature while her partner Lucy Lane comes in at just five three. The things we've seen from these two, Dave, have been amazing though. They'll need everything they've got tonight as a means of beating the Hungarians.”

“One thing’s for sure, Sara,” Dave said, “this is going to be one more match.”

* * *

Astra pulls her top up, “You ready,” she asks Lucy.

The smaller woman nods, “More than,” she smirks, “let's take these yahoos to the cleaners.”

A chuckle and hands held out for a high five are her response, “Let's do this.”

Lucy spins the ball in her hands, “You first,” she says, tossing the ball to Astra, “let’em believe they'll get over on me a little while longer.”

Astra smirks at her teammate, “Very well, Major.”

Lucy makes her way to the net, bending down, hands at the small of her back but eyes trained on the two blonde women on the opposite side of the net. She can read their thoughts on their faces as plain as if they were written on notebook paper.  _ How is this tiny person _ , because Lucy is five three on a good day,  _ going to do anything to block us? _ Because the two women on the other side of the net are both six foot or better and dwarf Lucy in height. The small woman smirks, they'll see.

She hears Astra’s hand smack against the ball, watches the Hungarians bump then set and prepare for a spike. When the ball starts over the net Lucy jumps straight up, hand connecting with the ball and slamming it into the sand on the Hungarians’ side. She turns to Astra, high fiving the other woman, “We’re gonna win this one, Inze,” she says with a laugh, “I feel it in my bones.”

When one of the Hungarian bombshells serves the ball over the net, Astra bumps it, Lucy sets and Astra spikes it into the dirt across the net. Lucy hugs Astra as the two laugh, “Your girl is watching,” she says.

Astra hums, “Must show off for the brave one then,” Astra says as they get back into position to serve, this time Lucy with the ball in hand. Lucy takes up position outside the court and spins the ball into the air a few times. She takes a deep breath then tosses the ball up, jumping behind it and smashing it across the net, directly into the sand. Astra’s laughing as she approaches Lucy for a high five, “I believe tall, dark and blonde’s words were, ‘how the fuck did someone so damn tiny jump that high?’”

Lucy laughs, “They should just watch.”

* * *

At the end of the first set Lucy and Astra have decimated the Hungarians twenty-one to ten. “So much for the unbeatable Hungarians, Dave,” Sara says in between sets.

“These two are a force to be reckoned with, Sara, that's clear.” Lucy smirks at Astra as they listen to the commentary, “We’ve seen some amazing jumps and a beautiful partnership so far. What will the next two sets hold for them?”

“I'm not sure, Dave, but it they do as well with this set as with the last, there won't be a third set.”

* * *

The second set is running close, much closer than Lucy and Astra were hoping for. The Hungarians have nineteen points to Astra and Lucy’s twenty, if the Hungarians score either team has to have at least two more points. Lucy’s standing behind the serve line, ball held loosely between her hands, her eyes are looking at the stands at center court. She draws in a deep breath, she wants to win this and she wants to end it now.

Tossing the ball in the air, she jumps up and knocks into over the net. The Hungarians have to dig to keep it up, set it and then send it back over the net. Lucy can see where it's going and it's gonna come down at Astra’s feet, but not if she can help it. She dives for the ball, tossing herself between Astra’s feet, getting under the ball enough to keep it off the ground and allowing Astra the room to set it for a rally back across the net as Lucy scrambles to her feet. Lucy gets under the ball, not in a decent enough position for a spike and sends the ball back over the net. She watches it bounce off one of the Hungarian's fingertips. The other dives towards the sand for it but it hits the tips of her fingers and rolls away.

Before Lucy can blink she's been swept up into her partner’s arms, “We did it!” Astra cheers.

Lucy wraps her arms around Astra, letting herself be swung around in excitement. When she's back in her feet they make their way over to the part of the stands where their family is. Alex has launched herself over the boundary, confident that her fiancé will catch her. Smiling Lucy watches the two for a moment before she makes her own decision. Stepping up to the wall by where Alura is sitting she reaches out to grasp the other woman’s wrist, making her turn.

“Congratulations,” her volleyball partner’s twin says but Lucy doesn't respond. Instead she reaches out, grasping the front of Alura’s cotton t-shirt in a firm grip and pulling her down so that their lips meet.

The older woman is thrown off balance and shocked by the actions for a moment but catches up quickly, returning the kiss with enthusiasm. “Have dinner with me?” Lucy questions, their foreheads pressed together once the kiss has ended.

Alura smiles, traces Lucy's cheek with a thumb, “I'd love to,” she says quietly.

* * *

Astra and Lucy stand side by side on the top tier of the podium, shiny new medals around their necks. “General, Major,” a reporter in front of them says and they both smile at the nicknames, “what's next for you?”

The two women grin, “I'm planning a wedding,” Astra says, looking over the reporters’ heads at Alex.

“And I have a date,” Lucy says, smiling at Alura who is trying her best not to blush.

“But what about the next Olympics?”

Astra shrugs, “If it happens-”

“-it happens,” Lucy continues. “Life isn't about the extra things,” she tells the reporter.

“Life is about the small everyday things that you couldn't live without.” Astra smiles, “It's about family and sharing with them, loving each other and doing your best at being the best you can be in everyday life.”

“Anything more than that,” Lucy says.

“Is just gravy,” they say together.

Astra steps down off the podium first, “If you'll excuse us we have dinner with our family.”


	6. Twenty Years and Three Generations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is it, guys, the very last chapter for this AU. I hope you guys have enjoyed. I know I had a blast writing it. I will say this last chapter is a little jumbled but I wanted it to be that way. Anyway, hope you enjoy.

“Welcome to the 2036 Olympics!” the man says, his hands clasped together in front of him. He smiles at the camera, “Behind me you'll see five young competitors for this year’s competition.” He turns to face them a bit, “These five young men and women,” he says, “are second and third generation Olympians.” He looks over them, “We’re missing someone.”

The four young people nod, “Yeah, our cousin or uncle,” the oldest of the group starts, “he’s -”

“Right here,” a young man says, sliding onto the bench seat beside the oldest of the group.

“Aunt Alex is right,” the man beside him says, “you can't make it anywhere on time.”

Before the rebuttal that is surely coming can be made the host speaks again, “All of you,” he starts, “are children of Olympians, but there's more to it than that too.”

“There is,” one of the young women says, her dark hair cut at chin length. She grins, “We’re -”

“Family,” the blonde beside her says and they grin at one another, laughing.

The host smiles at them, “So tell me a bit about your family,” he looks to the man, boy really, who hasn't spoken, “why don't we start with the youngest.”

The boy smiles and waves, “I'm Andrew Lane,” he chuckles, points to the blonde at his side, “her uncle and this one’s cousin,” he says, indicating the other young woman at his side. “My mothers are Olympic gold medalist Lucy Lane and former Olympic dive coach Alura Lane.”

“And what competition are you gonna be in, Andrew?”

He smirks, “Fencing, the youngest fencer in the competition,” he nods, “I'm sixteen.”

The host chuckles, “Proud of that?”

“Definitely,” Andrew says, “so is my coach, my aunt, Alex.”

“That's the second time we've heard something about Aunt Alex,” the man before them says, “care to share who she is?”

“Cassie should get to,” Andrew says, nodding to the dark haired young woman.

“Alex,” Cassie says, “is my Ma, Olympic gold medalist Alexandra Danvers. She's Savannah’s and Carter’s aunt and Joey’s sister.”

“And what competition will we be seeing you in, Cassie?”

Cassie grins, laughing a bit, “Savannah and I are going after the volleyball gold,” she says with a grin and a nod, “Grandpa Hank, he coached my mom and Aunt Lucy, and my mom, gold medalist, Astra Danvers, are our coaches.”

“And Savannah, your moms were Olympians too?”

Savannah nods, “Mine and Carter’s moms are gold medalists, Cat and Kara Danvers-Grant.” She glances at her brother, “Carter got to see them in the only Olympics they competed in together and now they're watching us compete together.”

The host smiles, “And Carter, what are you competing in?”

“Hurdles, relay, sprint,” he grins, “running, I love running.”

The host chuckles, “Well we’re all patiently waiting to see how you do.” He turns to Joey, the young man’s skin is a soft caramel color compared to the bronzed tones of the others, “Joey, what are you gonna be showing us this year?”

Joey smiles, “I'm following after my sister-in-law, Jon, I'm going after the artistic gymnastic medal.”

“And your parents are this bunch’s coaches, right?”

“My dad, yeah, he's helping Astra coach Savannah and Cassie but my mom hasn't had much to do with Andy’s coaching, that's all been up to Lexie,” he cringes at bit at the nickname, “Alex, all been up to Alex. But my mom is a gold medalist too, fencing, she coached Alex.”

“So we found your family in the audience and we’re gonna do something a bit more special here, let's bring out the whole Olympic family.” The older adults that make their way out onto the set, move to stand behind the younger ones, each set of parents stopping behind their child or children. Jon smiles at them, “I don't think I've ever seen this many gold medalists this closely related.”

Kara smiles from her spot behind Carter, “None of us had heard of it either,” she says, “until we did it.” She smiles, “And we did it doing what we love,” she glances at her family, “everything else, the medals and fame, the big things don't overshadow the small or the family we have.” She shakes her head, “All that stuff it's -”

“Just gravy,” the whole family says together.


End file.
